The most hotly anticipated game of the Gaelic football weekend was set for 5:30 on Saturday evening, as Galway hosted league champions Derry in Salthill.
After crashing out of Ulster in the quarter-finals to Donegal, Derry would have been hoping to get their All-Ireland group off to a solid start on Saturday. There are few more challenging draws they could have gotten than an opener away to the Connacht champions.
Their task was made even harder after just 20 minutes when a shocking stamp from Gareth McKinless on Damien Comer saw the wing-back rightly sent off.
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Galway v Derry: Gareth McKinless sent off for stamp on Damien Comer
With the sides level on 0-4 each, Galway broke towards the Derry goal in the 20th minute.
The ball found its way to Damien Comer, who was fouled by Gareth McKinless. While Comer lay on the ground, McKinless inexplicably moved to stamp down on his leg just above the ankle.
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It was an utterly bizarre move, and Comer required medical attention. The incident was initially missed by the match referee Brendan Cawley but, after consulting with his assistants, the Kildare men rightly sent McKinless off.
Speaking at half-time on GAAGO, Dublin legend Paddy Andrews would rip into McKinless, saying that there was "no place in the game" for actions such as these.
It's absolutely crazy stuff.
Lads, the position Derry have been in for the last four weeks, the work they would have put in for this performance, Gareth McKinless is a massive player, an All-Star for them. If you're Mickey Harte, if you're a teammate...Gareth McKinless is going to feel awful himself, but he has put Derry in a terrible position. There's no excuse for it.
It's a stonewall red card. You would be fuming.
Kerryman Marc Ó Sé was alongside Andrews on punditry duty and said that the red card epitomised what he saw as wider discipline issues with the Derry team.
Damien Comer doesn't go down unless there's something wrong with him...there's no place for this in the game. It's shocking.
It was noticeable - McFaul put in a dirty challenge, McKaigue put in one. There's a bit of indiscipline to this Derry team.
Though Ó Sé's point may be true, McKinless' shocking stamp was certainly a step up from the other incidents mentioned.
Derry went in at the break two points down to Galway.
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